“Happy Birthday to You” will be free for all to use without fear of a lawsuit.
The beloved ditty will be in the public domain under a proposed settlement that offers up to $14 million to those who paid for the rights to use the song as far back as 1949.
The settlement, which was disclosed in court papers on Monday, ends a class-action lawsuit filed in 2013 by a group of artists and filmmakers who said the song belonged in the public domain.
The group sought to claw back the millions of dollars in fees music publisher Warner/Chappell had collected for use of the song — an estimated $2 million a year in royalties.
The tune, originally titled “Good Morning to All,” was written by Patty Smith Hill and her sister Mildred J. Hill in 1893. The sisters included it in a children’s music book and left the copyright with their publisher.
The song evolved and eventually the melody was set to the “Happy Birthday” lyrics. Warner later claimed the rights to both the tune and lyrics when it bought the sisters’ publisher.
But in September, Los Angeles federal Judge George King concluded that Warner and its predecessor didn’t hold any valid copyright to the song or lyrics and, therefore, couldn’t charge for it.
The parties reached a settlement in December, shortly before the case was to go to trial, but the details weren’t disclosed until the filing late Monday.
The judge still needs to sign off on the proposed settlement and has set a March 14 deal to give preliminary approval. Warner didn’t admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement.